Practice Area
Hit by a car while walking? Colorado law gives pedestrians strong protection, and your own auto policy may help pay even though you weren’t in a car. You pay nothing unless we recover.
When you hire Smith & Weidinger, you work with the lawyer handling your case, not a call center. Founding partner Matthew A. Weidinger focuses on serious-injury cases with complex liability and damages. Before co-founding the firm, he worked at large and small personal injury firms in Denver and Colorado Springs and served as a Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County.
We handle pedestrian claims from our offices in Denver (1040 S. Gaylord St.) and Colorado Springs (415 N. Tejon St.), and the need is real in both cities. According to CDOT, 127 pedestrians were killed on Colorado roads in 2025, and more than 70% of pedestrian deaths happen after dark. From 2020 through 2025, Denver County had more pedestrian deaths than any other county, and El Paso County ranked third.
Colorado’s traffic laws put the burden on drivers to watch for people on foot.
The driver’s liability insurance is usually the main source, but Colorado’s minimum is only $25,000 per person. Your own auto policy may help: uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is included unless you rejected it in writing, and depending on the policy language it may apply when an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver hits you on foot. MedPay may also help with medical bills. Health insurance and Medicare may pay first and then seek repayment from your settlement, and we negotiate those claims.
If a government vehicle hit you, like a city truck or an RTD bus, or a road or sidewalk defect played a role, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act applies. It requires written notice within 182 days, and road and sidewalk claims are much narrower than vehicle claims. Most other pedestrian injury lawsuits must be filed within three years.
Colorado personal injury
Many people don’t know their own auto insurance can cover them on foot. Get a free consultation with a Colorado injury attorney. Not a screener.
You pay nothing upfront.
Not a call center.
Serious-injury crashes and the insurance claims that follow.
Commercial trucking crashes with complex liability.
Injuries caused by dangerous property conditions.
Pedestrian cases turn on details: who had the walk signal, where you were crossing, and what the driver could see. Insurers comb through those details looking for ways to blame you, so we lock them down first.
Pedestrian injuries are also severe, and future care is where these claims are most often undervalued. We work with your doctors to understand what you’ll need before anything settles.
Every pedestrian claim is built from the same pieces:
The crosswalk, the signal, the turn, and the statute that put the duty on the driver.
Traffic, business, doorbell, and dash cameras. We request it before it's overwritten.
Speed and braking data, phone records, and what the driver could have seen.
The driver's coverage, your own UM/UIM and MedPay, and coverage held by someone in your household, depending on the policy.
Surgery, rehab, home help, and work you may not be able to return to.
We look at all of it. Then we decide, with you, whether to settle or file suit.
You talk with a lawyer, not a screener. We explain your options, the deadlines that apply, and how our contingency fee works.
Get the care you need. We deal with the insurance companies and help coordinate MedPay, health insurance, and providers so your treatment doesn't stall.
We collect the reports, photos, video, witness statements, and records, and we send preservation letters before evidence is lost.
Once your doctors have a clear picture of your recovery, we document your losses (medical bills, lost income, future care, and how the injury changed your life) and present the claim.
We negotiate with every insurer involved, and with the health plans and providers that want to be repaid, so more of the settlement stays with you.
If the insurer won't be fair, we file suit before the deadline and prepare the case for trial. Most cases settle, and that preparation is what gets them to a fair number.
Recent outcomes from our motor vehicle injury cases. None of these involved a pedestrian.
Settlement for a client rear-ended at high speed by a distracted driver.
Settlement for aggravation of neck and back injuries.
Settlement for a client struck by a red-light runner who tried to blame our client.
Results depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
Unedited, from our Google profile.
Reviews are published on Google by the people who wrote them. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
These are the questions we hear most after someone is hit while walking. The answers below are general. Where it happened, what the driver did, and your coverage decide how they apply to you.
Often, yes. Outside a crosswalk you must yield to vehicles, but drivers still must use due care to avoid hitting you. If you’re found less than 50% at fault, you can recover, reduced by your share.
It may. Depending on your policy language, your UM/UIM coverage may apply if the driver was uninsured, underinsured, or fled, and your MedPay may help with medical bills. We’ll review your policy at no cost.
You may still have a claim. Drivers must use due care at every hour, and most pedestrian deaths in Colorado happen after dark. Lighting, speed, and vehicle data can show whether the driver should have seen you in time.
Usually, yes. Drivers backing up or pulling out must watch for people on foot, and a driver leaving a parking lot must yield to pedestrians on the sidewalk. Photos and store security video are especially important.
The driver’s employer, or its insurance, may also be responsible. If the vehicle belonged to a city, county, RTD, or another public entity, written notice is due within 182 days, so talk to a lawyer quickly.
Get medical care first, then report the crash to police. Colorado law requires drivers to take proper precaution when they see a child in the road. We can explain how a child’s claim works and help you protect it.
